Display device



W W, c. E. CHASE ET AL DISPLAY DEVICE Original Filed 'June 1'7, 1931 5 Sheets-Sheet l 1NVENTOR5 3 o Char/as 15. Chase a i /0.scp/7 Knoc/vc BYv A TTORNE Y.

INVENRS Char/c5 5.06am:

- Jasqoh/fnac/m 4 f ATTORNEY.

5 Sheets-Sheet 2 L A E S A H C E C DISPLAY DEVICE Original Filed June 17, 1951 W my c. E. CHASE ET AL.

DISPLAY DEVICE 7 Original Filed June 17, 1951 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 INVENTORS Char/es 5 Chase 1 Joseph llnoche TTORNEYJ Patented May 19, 1936 UNITED STATES.

DISPLAY DEVICE Charles E. Chase and Joseph Knoche,.Kansas City, Mo., assignors,-by mesne assignments, to

said Joseph Knoche Application June 17, 1931, Serial No. 545,068 Renewed October 16, 1935 7 Claims. (Cl. -40) Our invention relates to display devices, and

more particularly to advertising display devices having a movable display means continuously i1- luminated and a stationary display means intermittently illuminated. 1 It is a purpose of our invention to provide an advertising display device comprising stationary means that is illuminated from one source of light, and movable means that is illuminated from another source of light, the movable means creating the impression of a moving line of characters and the stationary means being illuminated by an intermittent light or one that is provided with a flasher.

More particularly, it is a purpose of our invention to provide a device of the above mentioned character, which comprises a compartment that contains the illuminating means for the stationary means, and a compartmentthat contains a rotatable member carrying the movable display means and illuminating means therefor, said compartments being in communication, but being provided with means for preventing the passage of light from one to the other thereof.

It is a particular purpose of our invention to provide a display device of the above mentioned character in which each compartment is provided with means for admitting air thereto near the bottom thereof, and for discharging air therefrom near the top thereof, the air being heated by the illuminating means so as to cause a rising current of air in said compartments, and to provide means for directing the heated air from both of said compartments into engagement with vanes on a rotatable member to produce rotation of the same in a predetermined direction.

It is another purpose of our invention to provide a device of the above mentioned character with an ornamental front member that is detachably mounted on a casing so that any desired style of front member can be mounted on the casing, said front member being provided with a pair of openings, one providing a window through which the movable display means is visible to create the impression of a moving line of characters across said window, and the other of said openings having stationary display means mounted in alignment therewith.

It is a further purpose of our invention to provide display means comprising a pair of glass plates or panes between which a transparent decorative or ornamental member or other transparency is mounted, and a frame in which said display means is carried, said transparency being mounted between the glass plates ,and being held in assembled relation by the frame, said frame and display means being slidable as a unit in said easing into alignment with an opening in said front.

It is a further purpose of our invention to provide a rotatable member for providing a movable display that is spaced from a window in the front wall of the device in such a manner that the characters on the rotating means will appear to be presented at said window in a flat manner, and to so form the translucent means providing the window that this flat appearance and the sharpness of the outline of characters will be enhanced.

In order to carry out this last mentioned purpose, it is a further purpose of our invention to provide illuminating means so located relative to the movable display means as to present a sharp outline of the characters against said window, and to coat the walls of the chamber in which said rotatable member is mounted and the surface of said rotatable member with a dull black coating so as to prevent any reflection from the surface of the rotor and the walls of the compartment in which the rotor is mounted of light coming from the illuminating means, to avoid diffusion of' the light coming from said source of illumination, said walls and surfaces being substantially light absorbing. Furthermore, it is a purpose of our invention to provide a diffused light in the other chamber or compartment of the device to obtain as nearly uniform illumination of the display means associated therewith as is obtainable, the walls of said last mentioned compartment being preferably of a light reflecting and preferably white character to obtain this diffusion.

It is another purpose of our invention to provide barriers adjacent the air intake and discharge openings of the device to prevent escape of light through said openings, one of said barriers being a portion of the detachable front member, and another of said barriers being a removable top member, which also serves as means for regulating the speed of the rotor by controlling the discharge of air through the discharge opening of the device.

Other objects and advantages of our invention will appear as the description of the drawings proceeds. We desire to have it understood, however, that we do not intend to limit ourselves to the particular details shown or described, except as defined in the claims.

. In the drawings: a

i .Fig, 1 is a vertical longitudinal sectional Fig. 7 is a section taken on the line indicated by line 1--1 of Fig. 6, and

Fig. 8 is an enlarged fragmentary sectiona view taken on the line 8-8 ofFig. 3.

Referring in detail to the drawings, our im-'- proved advertising display device comprises a body portion or casing, prefrablylma'de of sheet metal, and having the side walls l0 and and a rear wall 2. Said casing is further provided with a bottom wall l3, which has a large opening |4 therein, and a top wall |j5,'comprising apair of transversely extending i longitudinally" spaced portions providing a large opening |6 therebetween. The side walls l0 and II extend downwardly below the bottom l3, and the bottom I3 is flanged at I1, the flanges |1 being secured to the depending portions of the Walls Hi and H,- the rear wall l2 also extending-below the bottom I3, and being secured to a depending flange |8,-on a plate l9, overlying the rear edge portion of the bottom l3, and secured thereto, the sheet metal parts beingsecured together in any desired manner, as by means o f-welding.

A detachable ornamental front wall member is also provided for said casing, said front member being preferably made of different material than the casing itself, and being detachable therefrom by a sliding motion, as will be described below. 7 a 1 Mounted within the casing and extending upwardly from the bottom thereof,is a vertical wall portion 2|, extending substantially parallel to the rear wall l2, and extending from the bottom l3 upwardly a predetermined distance and having a forward horizontal extension 22, said-vertical wall portion 2| and the horizontal extension 22 providing a partition dividing the casing intoa compartment 23 and a compartment 24, the compartment'24 extending rearwardly of the compartment 23 and above the compartment 23. The partition is provided with flanges 25 on the vertically extending portion 2| thereof, which are secured to the side wallslfl and I I. The horizontally extending portion 22 of the partition is spacedfrom the side walls l0 and I these spaces being indicated by the numeral 26, and forming elongated openings on opposite sides between the chamber 23 and the ber 24. y a

The forward edge portion of'the horizontal wall 22 has an upturned lip 21 thereon,'which may be welded or otherwise fixed in position on a horizontal baffle 28, which is provided with upper portion of the chainflanges 29 on the sides thereof, which are secured ings 26 and the opening 30 being provided by means of the restricted horizontal passage 3| between the horizontally extending wall 22 and the baffle 28. Thus, while air will pass from the com partment 23 to the upper portion of the compartment 24, there will be no passage of light from the compartment 23 to the compartment 24, or vice versa, due to suchair passage, as the member 28 will serve as a light barrier'between the .two compartments. The baffle 28 is provided with a depending flange 32 at the forward edge thereof,-the purpose of which will be described below.

The forward edge portion of the bottom I3 is provided with an upstanding flange 33, aligning with the flange 32, and the said bottom is further provided with a reinforcing plate 34 extending. along and secured to the forward portion thereof, said plate having an upstanding flange 35 aligning with the lip 21 on the horizontal portion 22 of the partition between the compartments. The front of the compartment 23 is open and. the front wall 20 of the device has an opening 36. therein, which aligns with the open forward end of the compartment 23, and slightly overlaps the flanges 33 'and 32, and also is of such a size that the vertical edgesof the opening lie inwardly from the walls H) and II.

The stationary display means is mounted in alignment with the opening 36, said means comprising aframe, shown more in detail in Figs. 6 and '7, said frame being made up of a channelled'member bent into a shape to provide the vertically extending channelled end members .31 and the channelled bottom member 38, the channelled portions of the frame opening inwardly. The upper ends of the members 31 are connected by a pair of flat substantially parallel strips 39, providing a space between the same, forming a slot 40 for the reception ofthe display means to be carried by the frame therethrough. Thus a frame is provided that is of a channelled character with a slot in one edge portion thereof so that the display means can be slidably associated therewith by sliding the same through the slot 40, or the slotted top edge'of the frame. The display means comprises, preferably, a pair of glass plates or panes 4|, and a translucent flexible ornamental display member or other transparency 42, mounted between the glass plates or panes 4|.

It will be obvious that the character of the display member associated with the frame can be readily changed by sliding the members 4| and the member 42 outwardly through the slot 40, and placing a'different transparent or trans-. luc ent member42, or other flexible display-member having transparent portions, between the members 4|, with'the display member 42 therebetween, again passing the same through the slot 40into the, grooved portions of the members and 38.

The frame of the.display means is slidably mounted inthe casing, the top portion compris ing the flat bars 39, and the bottom portion comprising the channel 38 being slidably received respectivelybetween the flange .32 and the lip 21, and between the flange 33-and the flange 35, said flanges and. lip forming transversely extending guideways'slidably receiving said frame at the top and bottom of the compartment 23 at' the forward edgeithereof. The side walls I0 and do not extend as far forwardly as thebottom |3,'trminati.ng substantially in alignment with the flange 35iand the lip 21, and having outwardly turnedflanges 43 thereon} which are spaced from the front 20 so as to provide a slot between the flange 43 on the wall I8 and said front 20, for insertion of the frame carrying the display means in the guideways rearwardly of said front. i

The flange 31 has a finger piece 45 of sheet metal secured thereto in any'suitable manner, as by means of welding, which projects outwardly'beyond the casing and has the angular handle portion 46 thereon, by means of which the slidable frame can be moved into and out of position back of the opening 36 in the front 28, the inward sliding movement of the frame being limited by engagement of the angular handle 46 ,with the flange 43 on the side wall I I].

Mounted on the rear side of the front member 20 is an angular substantially Z-shaped strip 41, said strip having a flange 48 thereon spaced from a pair of longitudinally spaced vertically aligned guide strips 44 and having the flange 49 thereof secured to the inner face of the member 20, the web portion of the Z-shaped strip lying substantially in engagement with one face of the members 44. The flange 43 on the wall lies between the flange 48 and the strips 44. A pair of aligningZ-shaped strips 58 and 50' are provided, which are in alignment vertically of the front member 28, and which have the flange 5| secured to the rear face of the member 28, and the flange 52 spaced from a pair of strips 44, similar to the strips 44 cooperating with the strip 41, the flange 43 on the side wall |0 lying between the flanges 52 and the strips 44, the strips 44 beingslightly beveled away at 53 to more readily permit the flange 43 to pass between the.

flanges 52 and said strips.

The upper member 50 is also provided with a lateral inwardly directed top stop flange 54, as is also the Z-shaped strip 41 at the upper end thereof. These flanges 54 engage the top edges of the flanges 43 as the front member 28 is slid downwardly relative to the casing, and limit the downward movement thereof so as to space the bottom flange 55 on the front 28 slightly from the surface on which the device is supported, the front 28. extending considerably below the bottom l3, inasmuch as the casing is supported upon a pair of substantially V-shaped metallic rear legs 56, located adjacent the rear edge of the bottom and parallel to said edge near the side walls l0 and II, and a single central V-shaped leg 5! at the forward edge thereof, thus providing a three-point support for the casing, which will prevent tilting or tipping thereof on the supporting surface, although the same may not be absolutely'level. The legs are provided with downwardly struck partially spherical portions 58, which engagethe supporting surface upon which the device is mounted. The spacing of the strips 58 and 50' provides the slot between the flange 43 on the wall I0 and the front 20 for insertion and removal of the display means and the frame carrying said display means in alignment with the opening 36 in the front.

Mounted on top of the casing above the wall I5 is a removable cover member or roof member 59,

which has the oppositely inclined wall portions 68 and BI spaced from the "top wall I5, the longitudinal edges of the member 59 at the lower ends of the inclined walls 68 and 6| beingprovided with a U-shaped inwardly and downwardly directed flange "62 on each thereof, said flange the top thereof, each of which receives a depending flange 63on the side edge of the top member I5, said top member extending over and beyond the side walls I0 and I I such a distance that the upstanding flange portions 64 on each side of the roof will pass between the flange 63 and the wall I0 or I I. Thus an interfitting sliding connection is provided between the top I5 and the roof or cover member 59. The cover member 59- fits snugly against the rear face of the front 28, but is open at the rear thereof, leaving a triangular opening at 65 between the roof or cover member 59 and the top wall |5 of the casing.

Mounted on the rear side of the partition 2| is a lamp supporting member, having the vertical side walls 66, the rear wall 61, and the top wall 68, said top wall 68 extending beyond the rear wall 61 to form a flange 69. The lamp supporting member serves as a shield, being secured to the vertical portion 2| of the partition by means of any suitable fastening devices, such as the bolts I0, that pass through the flanges II on the walls 66 of said shield or lamp supporting member.

An opening I2 is provided in the partition 2|, which alignswith the rear wall 61 of the lamp supporting shield, and an electric lamp I3 extends through said opening into the chamber or compartment 23, said lamp being mounted on a suitable base I4 mounted on the wall 61, said lamp base being provided with suitable flashing mechanism to provide a flashing or intermittent characteristic to the lamp I3. Another electric lamp I5 is mounted in a suitable base I6 mounted on the top wall 68 of the lamp supporting shield. Electrical energy is supplied to the lamps I3 and I5 by means of a conductor 11, having the branches 18 and I9 leading to the lamps l3 and I5. The lamp I5 extends through the opening 30 in the baITle 28 to the upper part of the compart ment 24, and is placed as near as possible to the rear portion of the rotor described below.

Mounted on the horizontal portion 22 of the partition between the compartments 23 and 24, is the vertical shaft 88, said shaft 88 having a threaded portion 8| on the lower end thereof that engages with the threaded member 82 fixed on the horizontal member 22, and which is locked in fixed position by means of the knurled nut 83.

It will be obvious that the shaft 88 can be adjusted vertically or endwise of itself by adjustment of the threaded portion 8| thereof in the member 82, and when the same is located in desired adjusted position, it is locked in position by means of the nut 83. Mounted on the upper end of the shaft 88 to rotate thereon, is the conical bearing member 84 having the conical recess 85 therein, in which the end of the shaft is seated, said bearing member being preferably made of glass or similar material, and being secured to the top wall 85 of the rotatable display member or rotor 86 by means of the tongues 81. i The rotor or rotatable display member 86 is provided with a plurality of vanes or fan blades 88 in the top thereof, and has a side wall portion 89, which has a plurality of windows 98 therein and detachably' carries a plurality of display members 9|, which are visible through the win dows 90. The display members may have any desired characters thereon, and serve to close the openings inthe side wall 89. Thus the rotor 86 is .a cylindrical member with a closed side wall, and a top forming'a propeller or fan member, which is driven by means of air heated by means of the lamp I5, and'also by means of heated air, whichis heated by means of the lamp .13, as the air in the compartment 23, which is heated by the lamp 13, will pass outwardly at the top of said compartment through the openings 26, the passage 3|, and then through the opening 39,

i which lies in vertical alignment with andbelow through the rotor into engagement with the fan blades or vanes and cause a rotation of the rotor in a clockwise direction, looking downwardly on the rotor. The speed of rotation of the rotor is governed by the'speed of and quantity of air flowing through the rotor in a vertical direction and engaging with the vanes or fan blades thereon, and. this flow of heated air is determined by the size of the opening 65, inasmuch as this opening is smaller in cross sectional area than the opening 39 or the opening l6, and serves as a damper to restrict the flow of air out of the device and controls the speed of rotation of the rotor. The size of this opening is fixed, the same being determined by experiment, and established at a point such that the rotor will turn at such a speed that the characters displayed by means of the rotor through the opening 92 in the front member 20 will neither be too slow nor too rapid I for ready reading of the characters or words or other means that may be displayed thereby through said opening 92.

The inner face of the front 20 is provided with a recess 93 of greater length and width than the opening 92, and a screen or closure member is mounted in said recess for closing the opening 92, said screen or closure member being so constructed as to provide a sharp outline for the characters displayed therethrough by means of the light passing through the display members 9|,

and to reduce any distortion of the characters due to the fact that the display members are mounted on a circular member. It has been found that this result is obtained by providing a screen made up of a pane of glass 94 and a sheet of paper 95, secured together throughout the surface thereof in face to face relation with the paper layer innermost. It has also been found that slightly different characteristics of glass and paper are preferable under different conditions. Thus for daylight window display and for long range indoor display where the point of observation is located in excess of 10 feet from the front of the'display device, a ruby or other colored clear glass for the member 94, and a thin onion skin paper for the member 95 produces the sharpest and clearest outline for the characters displayed through the screen. In cases where the device is intended for use for indoor display purposes at a short range, and for night window display, we obtain a sharper and clearer outline for the characters displayed on the screen by using a ruby or other colored glass on the inner surface thereof, and a somewhat thicker onion skin paper is used on the inner face of the glass, the same being secured to the ground surface thereof in face'to face relation. In either case the paper and glass are secured together in a fiat face to face relationship by photographic mountin: tissue, which causes the glass and paper to adhere together by the application ofheat by means of a hot iron to the paper with the mounti'ng tissue located between the paper and the glass.

' By using this arrangement. for a screen, and by placing the rotor as close as possible for mechariical clearance to the screen, and by placing the illuminated means as far as possible from the screen within the rotor, a sharp definition of the letters or characters displayed on the screen and the least distortion thereof is obtained.

The screen or closure member is secured in position by means of a plate 96, which overlaps the one end thereof and is fastened to the inner face of the front 20 by securing members 91 and the plate 98 having the diagonally extending slots 99 therein through which the securing members I09 extend, said plate 98 having a finger piece |0| thereon, by means of which the same can be moved into and out of overlapping relation to the screen or closure member by movement of the plate 98 in a diagonal direction, this being permitted due to the fact that the slots 99 guide the member 98 in a diagonal direction due to the engagement of the securing members I00 in said slots.

It is important in order to get a sharp clear definition of characters displayed by means of the members 9| through the screen described above, that all of the light come from substantially one point within the rotor, and that there is no diffused light reflected from other points within the compartment in which the rotor is mounted, or from the rotor itself.

The inner face of the rear wall I2, the surfaces of the baflle 28, the face of the partition walls 2| and 22 facing the compartment 24, the portions of the side walls l0 and II in the compartment 24, all surfaces of the rotor and all surfaces of the top l5, are coated with a dull black paint or similar coating material, which will not reflect any light, but will be light absorbing. This dull black coating also aids in preventing the reflection of light in the passage 3| from the compartment 23 to the compartment 24, and also prevents reflection of light through the opening IS on the under side of the cover 59, which is also coated with a dull black coating, whereby leakage of light out through the rear opening 65 between the cover 59 and top I5 is prevented. It is also preferable that both faces of the walls 66, 61 and of the shield are covered with a dull black coating, and that the member I9 is similarly coated on the inner face thereof to thus reduce the amount of light transmitted through the opening H to a minimum, and to prevent any possibility of reflection of light from the electric lamp 14 into the upper portion of the compartment 24.

The compartment 23 is, however, provided with light diffusing walls so that as even a distribution of light as is possible can be obtained on the display means 42. The faces of the walls 2| and 22, which are directed toward the compartment 23, and those portions of the side walls I 0 and I I that form the side walls of the compartment 23 and the member 34 are all coated with a glossy white or similar highly reflecting coating to obtain as uniform a distribution of illumination of the member 42 as is possible.

It will be noted that the front 20 depends a considerable distance below the bottom l3, and lies closely adjacent the supporting surface upon which the device is located, and furthermore, that it has a forwardly extending flange 55 adjacent the bottom thereof, thus preventing the escape of any light reflected from the supporting surface, through the space between the supporting surface and said front. The flanges l1 and I8 also aid in reducing the amount of light that will pass laterally and rearwardly from under the casing, and the front 20 extends a substantial distance on both sides of the casing, that is, laterally beyond the walls It) and II, to screen any light that might escape laterally or rearwardly from the device to the eyes of the observer.

What We claim is:--

1. In a display device, a pair of separate compartments, one of said compartments having a rotor therein, display means thereon, illuminating means in said rotor, illuminating means in said other compartment, display means illuminated thereby, and means, separating said compartments to prevent passage of light between said compartments and providing means for feeding heated air to said rotor from said other compartment, comprising an upper baffle member having an opening therein underlying said rotor and a lower baflle member having a closed Wall underlying said opening, said baflle members being spaced to provide an air passage between the same, said passage having inlet means into the same from said other compartment spaced laterally from said opening in said upper baffle member.

2. In a display device, a casing having means for dividing the same into a pair of compartments open at the forward ends thereof, illuminating means in each of said compartments, means for shutting out the passage of light between said compartments, a detachable ornamental front portion for said casing having openings opposite the open ends of said compartments, said front portion and said casing having interengaging means thereon slidably connecting the same, a screen carried solely by said front portion aligning with one of said compartments and a transparent display device carried solely by said casing aligning with the other of said compartments.

3. In a display device, a casing having a front provided with a pair of openings, said casing having a pair of compartments aligned each with one of said openings, light transmitting closures for said openings, illuminating means in each of said compartments, a rotor in one of said compartments, means for admitting air to and discharging air from each of said compartments, said rotor compartment having light absorbing walls and said other compartment having light reflecting walls and means having light absorbing walls for shutting out the passage of light between said compartments.

4. In a display device, a casing having a front provided with a pair of openings, said casing having a pair of compartments aligned each with one of said openings, light transmitting closures for said openings, illuminating means in each of said compartments, a rotor in one of said compartments, said rotor having a light absorbing body portion, said rotor compartment having light absorbing walls and means for shutting out the passage of light between said compartments comprising spaced baffle members providing a circuitous passage having light absorbing walls.

5. In a display device, a casing having an opening therein, rotating curved display means having transparent portions in said casing rearwardly of said opening, means within said casing illuminating said display means by transmitted light and a light transmitting screen closing said opening comprising a pane of colored glass and a sheet of onion-skin paper secured together in face to face relation, said paper being innermost.

6. In a display device, a casing having a detachable front having an opening therein, display means in said casing rearwardly of said opening, means within said casing illuminating said display means by transmitted light and a light transmitting screen closing said opening comprising a pane of colored glass and a sheet of onion skin paper secured together in face to face relation, said paper being innermost, and means for detachably mounting said screen on the rear face of said front.

'7. In a display device, a pair of compartments, illuminating means in each thereof, a rotor in one of said compartments, display means on saidrotor, said rotor compartment and said rotor extending over said other compartment, display means associated with said other compartment so as to be illuminated by the illuminating means therein, means for preventing the passage of light between said compartments comprising a pair of vertically spaced partitions providing a passage therebetween, the lower partition being shorter than the upper partition to provide air inlets from said other compartment at opposite ends of said passage, and said upper partition having an opening therein smaller than said rotor located directly under said rotor to feed heated air into the same.

CHARLES E. CHASE.

JOSEPH KNOCHE. 

